


Girls Can Do Boy Things Too

by dreamchaser31



Series: I'll Get You Through [10]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, M/M, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, Speeches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-27 00:51:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15013130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamchaser31/pseuds/dreamchaser31
Summary: Jane is asked to keynote for the U.N.'s Women's Initiative Movement. She only agreed because of her daughters.





	Girls Can Do Boy Things Too

Jane absolutely hated public speaking, short of presenting her work to committees and boards about her findings. But that was different. She was confident in her work. She absolutely knew, all the time, that she was right. 

This was completely different. When she was asked to be a keynote speaker with her father at the U.N. for the Woman's Initiative Movement in Math, Science, and Medical fields, she almost said no. Mostly because ,short of a few data facts about woman in the workplace today, most of the speech, she knew, had to come from the heart. 

And speaking from the heart to thousands of dignitaries and millions of people, including her family who would watch it on television, was like reading your diary, with all your heart and mind exposed. 

Jane knew she was a strong woman. Her mother and grandmother made it that way. But in her field of study, any sort of emotion that you showed could be like a knife to a tire. They could discredit you on your feelings alone. 

Tony had been asked to emcee the event. Stark Industries had a women to men employee ratio of 50 women to 40 min, and with 150 department divisions ranging from Human Resources, to Scientific Research and Development, to Marketing and Management, 95 of those department heads were women. 

Stark Industries was fast becoming a game changer for women in the work force and other companies we're struggling to keep up. Maybe because Pepper was one of the best damn CEO's around. Jane supposed one day that title would fall to her, she only hoped she could do the job as well as Pepper. 

Tony had asked her to give the keynote. And she was hesitant at first. Pepper was obviously the better choice. But Ava and Lily we're there at the table when he asked. Lily in her high chair, her Cheerios abandoned as she played with her toy race car. The fourteen month old was as fascinated with cars as she was dolls. 

Ava had been reading a comic book at the time while she munched on her string cheese, laughing when the girl would beat up the boy, because to her, her Aunts Natasha and Wanda were as much of badasses as her two super hero daddies, grandfather, and countless uncle's. 

Steve and James had been grocery shopping at the time and Elijah was asleep. But she couldn't refuse his request because in their home girls could do anything they wanted, could be anything they wanted to be. And she realized that her daughters would be watching that speech, and while they probably wouldn't understand it at the time but the internet is forever. And they could watch it down the road. And a child's confidence level started with their parents. 

So that's why she was here now. Tony was a terrific emcee, she had to admit. Tony tended to lean on his sarcastic, dry sense of humor more often than not, but it was working tonight, and the whole building was at ease. 

Nevermind the million dollar security team in place for her and Tony alone. 

James and Steve we're at home, watching the event on tv with their kids, Elijah was too young to be around all these people, and no one really knew she'd had another baby. They definitely did a better job of keeping this last pregnancy under wraps. Jane hope if they decided to have another they'd be able to do the same. 

The fact that Papa Tony and mommy were going to be on tv had gotten Ava excited all week. Lily didn't know any better, but a text from Steve told her that Lily had been calling for Tony everytime she saw him on tv. 

Her guys were proud of her for taking this initiative and opening her heart to the world. They wanted their kids to be proud as well. 

Tony had just gotten done introducing her as the best woman, wife, mother, and daughter, and had helped her on stage, staying just behind her as he'd promised he would while she made her speech. The lights were bright and the audience blurry in the spotlight, she started getting warm because of the heat in the building and the lights combined. 

She cleared her throat and gave a word of thanks as the applause died down. A few catcalls came, and she knew Steve and James would have something to say about that. 

"Hello, as my dad already said, I'm Jane Foster. And thank you for inviting me to speak tonight. Most of you know me as Tony Stark's daughter, that's who I am to the media, mostly because I like to keep my personal life private. And that's ok, because I love my father. Others know me as Captain America and The Winter Soldier's partner. And I am that too. But in today's world, when does a woman stop being defined as a man's property?

I'm in a relationship with two men, both of those men are so old-fashioned it's sometimes a little ridiculous. They hold my car door open for me. Carry the groceries in. Take out the trash. Mow the lawn. Hang up curtains. Anything they deem as 'man's' work, they are always fighting me over. And sometimes they do win. Sometimes I'm at home all day with the kids, and I'm exhausted when they get home, and I'm like 'go for it', I'm not going to argue. But most of the time, and they will tell you this straight, they don't win."

Quiet laughter filled the audience as some women nodded their heads in respect and appreciation for the men's honesty.

"I'm also my mother's daughter. My mother was pretty badass in her own right. She raised me to be resourceful. She taught me to mow the lawn. She taught me to use a drill. She taught me how to change a tire on a car. I can do all that. I had been doing that for twenty eight years before I even met James. And while that may shock and surprise them, they know arguing with me is futile. 

We have three kids. Two beautiful girls and a beautiful little boy. Ava is six already, Lily is 1, and Elijah is three weeks old. They are our world. And to be honest, Ava was a surprise. And I hate to say that, because I know she's watching right now, probably excited that I'm talking about her, but she wasn't planned. And when we found out that she was a girl, I was extremely worried. 

See, James and I were still figuring out how to live together, how to be married. And being married to a superhero, if I'm being honest, sometimes sucks. But being married to a superhero who has been alive for a very long time, who was born in a different era? That is tough. 

And now I have two of them."

Another round of quiet laughter. And a 'Get it girl,' and 'Show them who's the boss, sweetie,' rang through the crowd.

"James treated me with kid gloves when I was pregnant. He liked to carry me everywhere. And sometimes, especially at the end, I was grateful. 

But if he was treating me like a princess, how was he going to act with our actual princess. 

I tried to talk to him a lot after that sonogram about having a girl, especially when he kept going out and buying very, very girly things, but the excitement of having a child kind of overshadowed anything that I wass saying. 

And I understood, because I was excited as well. 

Girls tend to be closer to their fathers as boys the tend to be closer to their fathers. That's natural. 

And nature is a beautiful thing. 

And when I had her, the change in his heart, I could see clearly across his face. Now see Bucky, for all that he is, has the most tender heart over anyone I know. Maybe that's because of everything he's been through. He had packed this diaper bag for the hospital, it was full of cute pink clothes and bows, and pinkand purple blankets to take her home in. 

But when we went to go take her home after her pictures. He brought in this little onesie. And it black, and in white letters it said 'Future Superhero'."

The screen behind her had a picture of the three of them, the day after Ava's birth, with James holding her on his chest facing the camera, and his other arm was wrapped around Jane's shoulder protectively.

"He changed her out of this ridiculously frilly, pink outfit and wanted to take her home in that. And as much as I bemoaned him not listening to me during my pregnancy, he HAD been listening. He'd told me that watching me give birth to our daughter had given him a new perspective on what women could do. That there was no way that he would have been able to do that.

And as cliche as that sounded at the time, well... You see, James doesn't say anything without meaning it. Now he may say something at one time, and go back and think about it and change his mind, but at the time he says it, he really believes it. 

So I knew that he was being honest with me. And all in all it made me feel a little better about raising a modern little girl with a World War ll veteran."

Another round if quiet laughter. 

"And it also gave me a little ego boost, because well, he's really, really strong."

A hoot from a woman, and a 'ya girl,' rang out over the auditorium. 

"And as you can see, he couldn't resist adding a little bowed headband to complete her outfit. Because even then, through it all, Ava was still his little girl. 

She made a lot of magazine covers. She got a lot of rewards. 'World's most beautiful baby,' 'Best dressed,' all of that, and I can tell you, Ava didn't care one bit."

Louder laughter filled the audience as.she continued.

"And let me tell you, as much as I love my daughter, if I let her select her clothes everytime she went out, the magazines would be painting a different story."

More laughter. 

"The children get more fan mail than the Avengers."

Even more laughter. 

"I'm not even joking. Most of the stuff they receive goes to charity. And we are so appreciative that you love our kids, but you really don't need to send them anything. Believe me, we are more than capable to provide for their needs."

The audience couldn't stop laughing. And Jane felt relived. 

"Girls are raised these days believing what you look like is what matters. I was a very active as a kid. I graduated highschool very early, got my doctorate before I was even legal working age. Even then, as beautiful as my mother was, she raised me to believe it's how you feel about yourself that matters most. 

When I did start to work, I kind of left all that behind. I would go in binge days where I forgot to sleep or eat. I'd go weeks without even working out. I didn't really take care of myself. 

Even when I met James, he would have to pull me away from work to go be a normal human being. 

I didn't even realize the damage I was doing to my body or my mind by bingeing on my job like that. 

When I had Ava, my mother's voice filled my head, like this nagging little bell, and it just kept saying, 'she's your life now, Jane.'

My mother raised me around the gym, and she also raised me while she was a working mother. There were times I resented when work pulled her away. But, she always called. She always encouraged me to do more. 

And that voice in my head was absolutely right. I was uncomfortable with my body, and when James and I left the tower for a little adult time, Ava was two weeks old, and magazines and chatrooms were slamming me right and left. Some of the posts were so mean that I literally would cry for hours after reading them. 

I was a horrible mother for not being with my baby all the time. 

I was letting myself go since I had the baby. I was becoming lazy with my body. 

They even said James would leave me if I didn't start taking care of myself again. 

Not one article attacked James. Not one article ridiculed him for leaving HIS baby with her grandfather for a couple hours for a date night. 

And I'm not ashamed to admit that James put a hole in my computer after reading those articles. He finally understood where I was coming from. 

See.... I'd just got done being pregnant for ten months, I was three weeks over due by the time I went into labor, and my labor was around thirty-six hours. We went from hospital to home, and none of my kids have a nanny. We'd been getting up through the days and nights to nurse her, and change her, and play with her. 

That was us. And sure, we got visitors. But we were the primary care givers. And the one day, after two exhausting weeks of no sleep, my husband wants to take me on a date, I get flack for not being home with my child and not looking how I should to deserve a man that looks like James. 

And while I admit, my husband is extremely nice to look at at times, you guys don't know what you're talking about. Try looking at him when he wakes up, with his hair everywhere, and his morning breath. Steve too, for that matter. 

They're men. And men are men even if they are superheroes with gorgeous blue eyes. 

And I took those attacks head on. Because you are only weak if you let them make you weak. 

I'm a normal human being. I'm not a supermodel. I'm not going to look good after carrying and giving birth to a six pound baby. And to all of you who state otherwise, well you know what, as Ava would say, 'go take a seat in the corner, Lily.' because if a five year old had more knowledge about a human body than a grown adult sitting behind a computer with a little keyboard courage, well isn't that just sad."

The screen in front of her showed social media conversations as she spoke, and #JusticeForJane was trending.

"I did, however get back to working out, I took her to the gym with me. . I cut back on work a little bit, so I could be home with her at night. We even had family dinners when she could start eating baby food. That was something important to James and now, every night, we all sit around the dinner table with our kids and eat as a family. 

James, took care of her when I worked, and I did when he worked. James for all that he was or is even now, knew work is important to me, and never nagged me about it at all. He even told me, a man is the head and the woman is the neck. The head can't turn if the neck isn't strong enough. 

The husband is only as strong as his wife. If the wife isn't happy, neither is the husband. 

And while my little family was my life, it's sort of like exercising. You stretch so you don't pull a muscle. You lift weights to improve your strength. You run to improve you heart. 

You do little things in your daily life to improve you personal life. You just have to. 

Mine was work, and James knew that. And I knew that Ava needed a strong mother to look up to. 

So did James. 

A child's confidence starts at home. More and more these days with social media, when they start seeing everything negative at such young ages, depression statistics are climbing. Suicide rates are climbing. Shooting rates are climbing. And we have to ask ourselves at some point, when do we step up and stop letting our children become another statistic?

A child emulates their parent's behavior because that typically who they look up to the most. If their parents aren't taking care if themselves, where does that leave the child?

Ava and Lily's favorite place in the world, isn't the playground, it's actually the gym. They've been going there since they were little, little with me. And of course they go with Steve and James as well. Sometimes we all go as a family. Ava's favorite thing in the world to do is run. Lily loves to kick balls, of course she falls more often than not after she kicks them, but she's still learning to be on two feet."

Quiet laughter and some 'awwws' ring out. 

"But they love it so much because, well, their parents love it. 

Ava, has been in dance class since she was two. That's what little girls love to do, right? Ava loves her dance class, she loves her dance teacher. She's a typical little girl. 

You give her an option of going to dance, or playing baseball with daddy? She'll pick baseball. 

Give her an option if watching TV, or doing some work with mommy? She'll pick the work. 

Cooking with daddy for the family or cooking on her play stove? I don't even know why we bought her that set."

More laughter.

"Lily prefers toy cars to dolls, but she loves to wear headbands and sparkly clothes. And she throws a ball better than I can, honestly. 

Steve, James, and I are trying to raise girls with options. In a world where girls are looked at more than taken seriously, we want our girls to be able to give that presentation instead of the man underqualified to give it, but got the job because of his gender. Because despite all the advancement women have been making these last 100 years, the attitude about women in the workplace still hasn't changed, and the conversation is getting old. 

When Ava asked me if she can be an engineer like her Papa Tony when she grows up, which happens more often than not, we say yes. 

If she wants that comic book instead if that doll. Absolutely. 

Ava idiolizes Natasha and Wanda so much that when we're all out together as a family, and people come up to Steven and James and ask for their autographs, or ask for a picture or a flex, Ava always asks why.

She says 'why are they asking them to do that when Auntie Nat or Wanda can beat them. 

When Steve or Bucky are fixing something around the house, it never fails, she goes to them and is like 'why doesn't mommy do it? She has one of those at work so she knows."

She's even asked Papa Tony to make her an Iron Girl suit when she gets older. 

Our five year old is on her way to kindergarten this year, and she understands that gender roles don't have to be 'gender roles', more than most adults.

My son is just a baby, he sleeps, eats, and dirties his diaper. Our girls did the same thing when they were his age. There are no gender roles in our infancy, why are they there in our daily lives. 

It's time for us, as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, co-workers, and bosses, to come to the table and realize that a girl can do, anything that a boy can do. 

She may not do it as pretty, she may not throw that ball as far, she may not jump as high. 

She may not do it a 'man', way. But she'll do it her way. Because she can. 

Because women can do and be great in a man's world. And it's time that we all accept it. Start the movement and make the change.

Thank you."

The applause was deafening as she stepped away from the mic and the room got to it's feet. She did final wave, and allowed Tony to pull her backstage for a hug. 

Her phone vibrated and she reached down to check it. 

A video message from Bucky's phone of Ava jumping up and down in front of the TV and Lily clapping, probably because everyone else was, while Ava kept yelling 'Yay Mommy!' was all she needed to know that she did the right thing. 

She did it for her daughters.


End file.
